A Great New World
by l-lope estheim
Summary: Post-Fall, this will be a story all about the former L'Cie making new lives for themselves, some in more ways than one. not much of a summary but it's a good fic i promise :) continuation of A Cursed People.
1. Chapter 1

***sighs* feels good to finally get this chapter out, even if it's just a sort of prequel (hence the chapter name, lol) I'm just glad I was able to get past block I had there for a few days I couldn't get anything out, but I feel I've finally got the creativeness flowing again. This chapter is set just after the battle against Alexander, but the next chapter will be set directly post-fall and will sort of set up how this FanFic will be in terms of "what the population will do on Pulse?" so here goes…**

Chapter One: Sort Of A Prequel

Hope stood up stretching, he turned to Snow and said, "I'm going for a walk".  
Snow gave a sleepy nod of acknowledgement. Hope turned and left him and the others by the campfire as he strode into the cool night air. He walked for a while enjoying the calming fresh air until he came to the edge of the cliff near witch they were camped, the cliff overlooked the valley of the Archylte Steepe and in the distance he gazed upon his floating home of Cocoon. He looked down at his L'Cie brand on his arm and sighed. Was it wrong for him to be glad he had it, not for the fate that followed its appearance but because of what it had brought him. For most people the symbol meant being doomed as a L'Cie but to him he had been given the opportunity to meet Light and the rest of his friends and despite the situation they were in, he enjoyed traveling with them and being together, like a family. _I hope that once this is all over we'll still be able to be together, and Dad and Serah and Dajh as well._

As he thought he sat down on the grass and looked out over the cliff, he continued to think for another few minutes before he felt a soft hand rest lightly on his shoulder, the contact hadn't hurt at all but as he had thought he was completely alone he thought it was a monster at first and jumped out of his skin, yelping in surprise, his heat racing. He turned to see that it was Lightning who was kneeling before him, looking at him with a now apologetic expression, "sorry", she said, "I didn't mean to startle you".  
Hope managed to relax his body and forced a shaky sentence, "I-it's ok I j-just didn't realize th-that you were there".  
Lightning smiled warmly causing his heart to continue to race but for a different reason. "I just came to see if you were alright", she said quietly.  
"Yeah I'm fine, just thinking", he said. Lightning sat down next to him and they looked out at Cocoon together.  
"What about"? She asked.  
Hope took a deep breath before answering, "Just hoping that if we make it through this whole L'Cie business-"  
"when we make it through", Lightning corrected him.  
"Right", Hope chuckled, "When we make it through this, we can still be friends all of us, and my dad and your sister and Sazh's boy, and Snow's NORA gang".  
"I'm sure we'll still be friends once this is over", Lightning said, "There's no reason not to be".  
"Yeah, I just hope you and me don't end up drifting apart because you're too busy with work and don't have time or something", Hope replied.  
"Hope, you know I'd make time for you", she said.  
Hope looked up at her expecting to see a reaction in her but there was none, she had said it as if it was natural. Did it mean something? _No, I shouldn't assume, I'm just grasping at straws. _None-the-less he smiled and said, "Thanks Light".  
She gave a quiet sigh and adjusted her position, she was now fairly close to him and he was surprised she couldn't hear his heart beating as a few strands of her hair brushed against him, causing him to pick up the sweet scent of her hair.  
He was there for all of a minute before he made a spur-of-the-moment decision. He sat up and turned to face her, "Light, I-I need to tell you something", he said seriously.  
Lightning looked at him almost curiously before seeing his serious expression and turning to face him as well, "what is it Hope"? She asked.  
"I… w-well… I-I-it's difficult to say", he answered meekly, ducking his head.  
"It's ok Hope, whatever it is you can tell me", she said comfortingly.  
"W-well, I want to say thanks for your help with Alexander", he said.  
"It's ok Hope, I was glad to help you beat him", Lightning said smiling, she could tell he wasn't done though.  
"I-I mean how you helped me to fight, to convince me that I was strong enough", he said, being more clear, "you're the only one that could have done that".  
"Hope, I'm sure Snow or Sazh would have said the same thing, we can all see your strength", she reassured him.  
But Hope shook his head, "no, I-I mean I was on the verge of giving up for your sake a-and you managed to convince me that I was strong enough to fight through this", he said, "t-to convince me that I wouldn't be a burden".  
Lightning blinked with a surprised expression, "for me"?  
Hope gulped and continued, "I-I want to help protect you, a-and not just because you said you'd look out for me too", his heart was beating out of his chest and he felt like he was going to pass out, "L-L-Light I-I… I love you", he almost yelled the last three words, and it seemed to have that effect. Lightning's eyes widened and her mouth hung open, she seemed to want to say something but was unable to. "I-I know that you don't feel the same way, and you can't return my feelings but… I-I just couldn't hold it in any longer, and it's not a normal crush… I-I've had a crush before but this feels completely different", he sighed and hung his head once again, "I hope you won't hate me for putting this on you".  
Lightning gained some semblance of control because she said, "I… I couldn't hate you Hope".  
Hope looked up in surprise, then smiled saying, "thanks. I-I won't do anything to pressure you or make you uncomfortable, I just felt too much like I was lying to you, I didn't want to hide it anymore".  
He quieted for a moment feeling completely emotionally spent, the rush from finally confessing his feelings wearing off now leaving him shaky and a little tired. "I uh… I'll just go to bed", he said quietly and stood beginning to walk off, though he turned back only to glance at Lightning, again feeling a little guilty for putting this on her. He sighed and continued walking, he made his way back to where the rest of their group was camped. When he got there he found the others asleep, he found a soft patch of grass near the dwindling fire and lay down. He was glad he had finally gotten up the courage to tell Lightning how he felt but now felt guilty about it. Lightning had said that she didn't hate him for it but still, he had now changed their friendship. Awkward moments were probably going to be unavoidable now. His stomach churned in discomfort, awkward moments would be difficult for him but he could tolerate them, but he didn't want to force them on her just because he couldn't hold in his feelings. _How the hell did I rationalize telling her before, I'm such an idiot. _He sighed and curled himself up on his side. _Calm down, maybe I can just act like it never happened, just because I told her doesn't mean I need to act any different, maybe she'll just do the same, I mean it's not like she would be troubled by this, maybe she'll still think of me as a friend._ He relaxed the muscles he hadn't realized he had been clenching and took a deep calming breath. _Yeah just don't ever bring it up again and try to avoid abnormally close situations._ With his mind calm (well, calmer anyway) for now he began to drift to sleep.

**Lightning's POV**

If Lightning's mind was a city she would declare it a natural disaster zone, because the cyclone of Hope's confession was wreaking havoc through her thoughts. She had to try and sort through the questions that were suddenly appearing. _Does he really feel that way? If so why? Did I do something to confuse him? Would that make me a horrible person? Does he think I'm a horrible person? Has anyone else noticed?... _Lightning griped her head in her hands, "enough", she growled and took a deep breath and held it for a moment before releasing, her muscles relaxed and she adjusted her position to sitting cross-legged on the grass. _Right, _she thought, _Hope just said he loved me, _she cringed slightly, just thinking that felt foreign and impossible. She knew Hope wasn't the sort of person to say these sorts of things without meaning them so that ruled out the possibility of this being some stupid joke (engineered by Snow), which meant that what he had said was true, or at least he believed it to be true. He had said it wasn't a normal crush and she trusted his judgment with this, he was good at knowing how he felt, for his age anyway. There was also a certain fire in his eyes when he said those three words, something she had only seen when he had said he was after Snow, granted he had given up his desire for revenge later but she had always thought what she had seen was the love for his mother, if that were true than that only further confirmed his feelings for her. She sighed, _I guess there's no denying that point._ But why when he said it, when he finally forced out those three words, when she caught a glimpse of the fire that gave him strength in his eyes, why when he said he loved her… had she liked it. She had liked hearing him say he loved her, and that he wanted to protect her. Did this make her a bad person? Was she taking advantage of him for her own personal pleasure? And why did it even make her feel good for Hope to tell her that he loved her, she should feel bad for him, even if she felt the same way a romantic relationship between them would be extremely difficult, there was no way of telling who would approve or disapprove of such a relationship. Granted she wasn't one to let other people's opinions stop her from getting what she wanted, she still wouldn't want Hope to be ridiculed for it, even if she felt the same way… Lightning's eyes snapped open, _could she even consider that, was it possible… that the reason she liked hearing it… that the reason she liked him over everyone else in the group… that the reason she wanted to protect him… was because… could she… feel the same way…_

Her body seemed to freeze, but it wasn't a tense freeze she just didn't seem to move or breath and she didn't feel the need to, as she pondered that strange and impossible, yet warm and appealing possibility… could she feel the same way about Hope? Her thoughts stayed on considering the possibility even after her body seemed to start moving again. it was strange, had she been asked yesterday if she liked Hope in that way she would have firmly denied it, maybe even give a warning hit if it had been Snow, but now for some reason it not only seemed plausible but even appealing to her. She sighed as she stood up, she must have been sitting there for at least an hour. She turned and headed back off to camp, she would have to sleep on this, maybe see if she felt any different in the morning. Either way one thing was for sure… Snow must not find out about this or she would never hear the end of it.

**I hope you like this chapter that will kick this whole thing off, there will be a lot more Hope & Light moments once everything is set up so there will be lots of fluffiness later, I kind of have long term plans for this story but I'm open to any suggestions if there is anything someone would like to see happen just ask **** please review it might not seem like much but it helps motivate me to get these chapters out quicker.**

**I'm just going to put a disclaimer in my profile.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everybody here's my next chapter, reasonably big (for me anyway). I'm hoping to impress with my post-fall set up, I'm quite sure it'll be unique and I hope you like it.**

Chapter Two: A New Home

It was a beautiful morning view as the sun rose and shined through the now crystalized Cocoon, sending rays of light everywhere. Laughter and cheery voices could be heard emanating from a field of medium length grass, as six former L'Cie celebrated their newfound freedom.

"Soooo, are you going to introduce me", said a brightly smiling Serah looking over at Sazh, Dajh and Hope.  
"Oh right", said an ecstatic Snow, "this is Sazh Katzroy and his son Dajh", Snow said pulling Sazh closer and nearly dethroning Dajh. "Dajh was the Cocoon L'Cie who found the Bodhum vestige, and Sazh thought that by killing the Fal'Cie inside he could fulfil Dajh's focus and prevent him from becoming a Cie'th".  
"A rather long introduction, but a pleasure to meet you Serah", Sazh said, extending his hand.  
"Likewise", Serah said, shaking his hand.  
"Hi", Dajh yelled excitedly, waving from atop his father's shoulders.  
"Hello", Serah chuckled, waving back.  
Lightning stepped over and placed a hand on Hope's shoulder, "this is Hope, I guess you could say he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time".  
"Or the right place at the right time", Hope chuckled, "I mean we're all here and ok now right"?  
Serah giggled, "I like you already".  
"So you're Serah, it's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Light", Hope said also shaking Serah's hand, "and far too much from Snow", he added.  
"Hey", Snow said frowning, but Serah just giggled and wrapped her arms around her fiancé's waist.  
"It's good to meet you too Hope", Serah said, her voice slightly muffled by Snows trench coat.

They continued talking and laughing as they were all happier than they had been in what seemed like a lifetime. After a while Hope spotted something of interest, "hey look there's Cocoon ships landing over there", he said pointing towards the base of the crystal pillar. Everyone looked to see a large group of ships landed about a mile out from the pillar and several more joining from the sky.  
"Come on let's go see if we can help out", Snow said raising a fist in determination, and he began jogging off with Serah running behind still grasping his hand.  
Sazh laughed and followed behind saying, "let's catch up son", and Dajh gave a cheer of approval.  
Lightning and Hope began walking behind them at a slower pace.

Eventually they caught up with an out of breath Snow and Sazh, and a triumphantly laughing Dajh. They began to enter crowds of citizens until they were stopped by a G.C. soldier, "hold there, who are you"? He asked.  
"Relax we're civilians, we want to know if we can help", Snow said calmly.  
"Really? Ok, we could use all the help we can get", said the soldier, who clearly thought they were in way over their head, "I'll take you to the commanders and we'll see what you can do".  
The soldier turned and headed further in to the crowds, while the group trailed behind him.  
After a few minutes they saw a welcome yet very odd scene: several tables were grouped together with old looking maps and several radios laying atop them, but surrounding the tables and in deep discussion was NORA members: Gadot and Lebreau, Cid Raines, a very bruised and battered but determined looking Yaag Rosch and finally a very driven looking Bartholomew Estheim. As they approached Hope noticed a certain member of the group, he rushed forward with a shout, "Dad".  
Bartholomew turned with a surprised expression which changed to joy at the sight of his son, he stepped forward and embraced Hope, exclaiming happily, "Hope, I knew you you'd be alright".  
The group smiled at the sight of the boy reunited with his father, but Snow fell forward to the ground a second later, tackled from behind by two blue and blond blurs. Standing, a now identifiable Yuj and Maqui grinned, "That's fifty Gil Snow", said Maqui.  
Snow groaned and rolled over, "what"?  
"The bet was if we ever put you on the ground, you'd give us fifty Gil", Yuj said.  
"Each", added Maqui.  
Snow dropped his head to the ground, "you guys".  
Gadot and Lebreau walked over both crossing their arms, "hey hero, you think you can lie down and give up after you dropped Cocoon out of the sky", said Gadot.  
"Yeah you're nowhere near done yet", said Lebreau, just before noticing Serah and walking up to her giving her a hug, saying, "it's good to see you".  
Cid and Rosch also walked over, "yes we could use all the help we can get", said Cid smiling slightly, "and you are rather able bodied".  
Lightning stepped forward saluting, "General Raines", she said.  
Cid waved his hand, "unnecessary Sargent Farron", he said, "formalities only waste time now".  
"It's good to see you survived Rosch", said Sazh, "you too Raines, glad you made it out of crystal stasis".  
"Indeed, it's refreshing to finally be free of my L'Cie marking", he said rubbing his right forearm slightly.  
"Yes, but we must ask you what happened to your other two companions"? Asked Rosch.  
All the former L'Cie looked down sadly. "They became Ragnarok", said Hope, now out of his father's grasp and drawing the gaze of all present, "both of them, together. They were able to create the pillar that stopped Cocoon's fall".  
Raines looked thoughtfully at Hope, "hmm, there were reports of a creature some described as Ragnarok, at least it was there to do good", everyone nodded.  
"But our problem now is finding a place to secure and build a settlement", said Bartholomew, "we have about a thousand people here who were willing to evacuate to Pulse others chose to take their chances staying on Cocoon, it's still unknown how many survived".  
"Well there is a place we know", said Snow finally standing up fully, "Oerba, it's a former Pulse village to the North-East, there's only minimal monsters there now".  
"That sounds perfect", said Rosch gesturing to the gathering of tables, "these old maps haven't been updated in nearly five-hundred years. Mr. Katzroy I understand you're a pilot, would you be willing to lead the way in a transport".  
Sazh nodded, "so long as someone I trust can watch my son while I'm piloting".  
"I could watch him for you", said Bartholomew stepping forward, "I'll be right behind you when you fly in".  
Sazh nodded once again, then brought his son down in front of him, "hey little buddy, I've gotta' show these guys where we're going to be staying for a while, so you're gunna' hang out with Hope and his dad for a while, ok"?  
Dajh nodded, "ok daddy, but you have to be quick, ok"?  
"I'll be as fast as a Chocobo", Sazh chuckled.  
Raines gave another small smile before turning to the rest of the group, "Sargent Farron and Mr. Villiers would you two be willing to join the sweep team in clearing out any resistance in the area"?  
Both Lightning and Snow nodded and then Snow turned to Serah and said, "You should go with Hope and his dad too, that way we'll be right with you when we get there". Serah nodded and Snow leaned down so she could kiss him on the cheek.  
"Ok", said Gadot loudly, "let's get moving, I'll get everyone moving commanders".  
"Thank you Gadot", Rosch said, Gadot nodded and walked off along with the other NORA members.  
Raines then turned back to Bartholomew and said, "Mr. Estheim you and me will take Transport seventy-eight, the food on that ship will be needed when we get there", Bartholomew nodded, then Raines turned back to Rosch, you should probably go with Mr. Katzroy and lead the sweep team".  
Rosch nodded as well, "we'll take transport forty-three".  
The two turned back to everybody else and Raines said, "ok everyone let's go".

**Lightning's POV (what everyone's been waiting for :) **

With that everyone started to move into place, Hope, Bartholomew, Serah, Dajh and Raines, entered a transport filled with S.D.'s and prepared to follow the other team to Oerba. While they did this Sazh, Snow, Lightning and Rosch went to another transport after gathering some PSICOM and G.C. soldiers together. Lightning's mind was completely focused on the mission at hand, or as focused as she could manage with her distracted thoughts. She just needed to go with this team and sweep through Oerba, and then once they had settled down a little she could talk to Hope. Much thought had occurred since Hope's confession, but she was certain in her decision now. It might not be right in everybody's opinion but it was her decision and as Hope had said "so long as it's my decision there's nothing to regret". With her mind once again temporarily settled she braced herself as the ship took off.

It took nearly two hours to get to Oerba from the landing zone, as they approached Lightning saw that the village was pretty much the same as they had left it, an odd Cie'th or two looked to have wondered back in since they left but it was mostly still. The village itself was still the same, most buildings intact with a few collapsed ones here and there.

Once they completed their task of clearing out the village and the surrounding area Lightning and the rest of the group gathered together and headed back. When they arrived several more ships had landed, with the one Sazh had piloted, including the one with Hope. Lightning got an anxious feeling seeing him again, _no, not now I need to talk to him later, on his own,_ Lightning repressed the feeling as best she could and continued toward the group. Hope had acted as if he had never given the confession, and at some points she thought she might have dreamt the whole thing. but she was sure it had happened because now she paid attention to it she had actually caught Hope starring at her a couple of times, though she pretended she hadn't noticed, his starring never wondered from her face so it was innocent enough and she didn't want to make him more uncomfortable. He hadn't shown any distraction in battle but what surprised her is she also now noticed that he favored protecting and healing her over anyone else, even himself. She had wanted to confront him about this, saying he should take care of himself as well, but they had defeated Orphan and Barthandelus now so there was little point, hopefully the boy could now relax and pursue his own interests.  
Her thoughts were interrupted as she approached the group and stood before Rosch, "Area clear sir", she said.  
"Good", he sighed looking relieved, "thank you Sargent Farron, could you please assist commander Raines, he is organizing teams to map and perimeter the area until we can erect a wall".  
Lightning nodded and headed toward where Raines was standing.

For a while they discussed the best form of perimeter, where would be good places for future walls and towers to be built and sending teams to map out the direct area. The process took another few hours, during which Lightning though to ask Cid something.  
"Raines, we heard that the Cavalry had confirmed your death, was that intelligence false"? She asked.  
Raines actually chuckled a little, "they confirmed a body double, advanced Nano/Holo-tech used to alter a prisoners appearance, he was told if he survived he would be let free, but from what I hear he didn't care either way."  
Lightning nodded, the contingency was logical, to use a decoy to ensure ones safety.  
"I didn't like the idea myself, but the Fal'Cie Barthandelus had almost complete control over me at the time".  
Their conversations were strictly professional after that and when they were done Lightning questioned what she should do next, "I believe Mr. Estheim wished to see you after you had finished assisting me", said Raines, "you should seek him out".  
With that Lightning left Raines to watch over the patrols while she sought out Hope's father. It didn't take long for her to find him as he was gathered with everyone else. As she approach they waved to her and she nodded in acknowledgement, "ah I'm glad you found us Miss Farron", he said smiling with Hope by his side.  
"Call me Light", she said.  
Bartholomew smirked, "yes well I'd ask you to call me Barty but the nickname always seemed a little childish to me so… I hope Bartholomew is fine with you".  
Lightning gave a small smile, replying with a nod, "So why did you wish to see me Bartholomew"?  
"well I wanted to get all of your opinion on something", he said moving to clear view of everyone, "there is a large building on the shoreline that I asked to be reserved, it has plenty of space so if there is no problems with it I would propose that we take this building and make it our home, together".  
Everyone seemed intrigued by the idea, Serah seemed to like the idea of a house on the beach just like Bodhum and was talking with Snow, Sazh was asking Dajh if he would like to live on the beach and Hope was looking out over the ledge at the building in question, as if analyzing it. Lightning also looked out at the building, they had passed through it last time and it did seem big enough for all of them, still she was unsure of the idea. "I think it's a great idea", said Serah happily drawing Lightning's gaze.  
"Yeah, me too", said Snow.  
"We got no qualms, sound nice", said Sazh.  
Bartholomew looked over at Hope, who was still looking out at the building, "what about you son"? He asked cautiously.  
Hope looked back at him and smiled, "It sounds great and it does look big enough, but I have a condition".  
"Oh".  
"Yeah I want a door lock, I like my privacy and it's especially important with him running around", he said gesturing toward Snow.  
"Hey, you really think I'd do something to you in your own room", Snow said.  
Hope nodded his head making Bartholomew chuckle and Snow gave an exaggerated hurt expression.  
Snow turned to Lightning now and asked, "So sis, what about you"?  
Lightning looked out at the building then back at the group, "I suppose, but I want a door lock too".  
Bartholomew smiled, "I'm sure we can get one for anybody who wants them".

After that they made their way down to the their new home and entered to find it had already been organized into a large house with six bedrooms, a large but for now under stocked kitchen, a large lounge area that right now only contained some lawn chairs, two bathrooms and finally the roof which had a view of the water along with a small garden of flowers. Once they had all decided on rooms they each made themselves comfortable. Lightning sat on her new bed looking out the window at the early afternoon sun, and it finally felt like she was back home, except now it was her new home.

**So that's it for now, please leave a review, I always like to hear what you guys think. Aaaand thanks again for reading **


	3. Chapter 3

**Ha ha, hello I hope you're ready because finishing this chapter was exciting for me. To be honest though this chapter really only builds anticipation, Soooo, sorry about that the next chapter will have better action but this is just kind of extending the setup, but I hope you enjoy it none-the-less.**

Chapter Three: Caught In The Prac.

Later that night, or rather early morning, when the bright full moon was hanging in the sky, one person was wide awake while the others slept. Tiptoeing out the front door, Hope made his way down the rocky paths being careful not to slip as he made his way to the sand of the beach. Once he reached the shoreline he set down his bottle of water and the wrapped package he was carrying. After that he found a good spot that wouldn't be affected by water, he smoothed out the sand and marked a large uneven circle in the sand. Hope then turned back to the items he had brought with him and reached for the large package, he removed the light cloth that was covering it to reveal a black holster and inside the holster was a gleaming Gunblade.

**Flashback (about a week ago)**

"Here, take this one", said Lightning, "it's my old Gunblade but be careful with it, a swordsman should never neglect their blade". Hope nodded taking the Gunblade that he already doubted he would be able to wield properly. It was nearly two thirds his size when he extended it to blade form. "Wielding a Gunblade requires speed and dexterity but also the strength to move your weapon as fast as you need". Hope nodded once again, admiring the blade in his hands. Lightning walked a few paces away then turned back to him, pulling out her own Gunblade, "now we'll need to get you used to the weapon you're using and because we don't have training dummies you'll take some swings at me".  
Hope's eyes widened in badly concealed horror as he looked from one beautiful thing to the next, "y-you want me to swing at you"?  
Lightning smiled slightly, "don't worry Hope I can block anything you can throw at me at this stage".  
Hope steadied his breathing and griped the hilt of his weapon with both hands and nodded, "ok".  
Lightning raised two fingers and beckoned to him, "show me what you got".  
Hope took a moment then swung at her left knee, but was met with the clanging metal of Lightning's Gunblade. He moved out then stabbed at her right shoulder, she parried it away causing his momentum to swing right, but he tried to use this to swing full around and hit her right side. However he hit nothing but air as she ducked his weapon and brought her own up to the back of his neck.  
"Good you're picking a spot to hit instead of just striking in general, but try to avoid putting all momentum into one swing and never turn your back on your opponent", she lowered her weapon allowing him to turn back to her and repeat the process.

This went on for an hour or two by which time Hope was drenched in sweat, but he refused to complain or otherwise voice his discomfort. Once Lightning was also reasonably covered in sweat, she decided to end their training session. That was the first of few that they had managed to get in before arriving at Orphan's Cradle.

**End flashback**

Hope pulled the weapon from its holster and moved toward the circle he had drawn, he then began performing maneuvers that Lightning had taught him. Now that Orphan and Barthandelus were defeated it was unlikely that Lightning would continue to train him, but he was determined to prove that she hadn't wasted her time, even to himself. He would continue to practice on his own, he might not be able to become as good as most but he would put everything he had into trying. Once he had performed the moves that were meant to warm up his limbs he moved on to performing different attacks while keeping his defense up against imaginary opponents, he kept cycling through his mental list of targets from soldiers to Lobo's to Behemoths. After about ten minutes he felt his limbs begin to burn and beads of sweat began to roll down his face. He pushed on moving through his moves, linking one attack to the next just as Lightning had taught him. He managed to continue to swing the Gunblade for another half an hour before he sensed the end of his energy reserves approaching. He let his emotions take over and put in one final burst of strength swinging stronger and faster than ever, before finally dropping the Gunblade in the sand and collapsing.

After a few minutes of lying there panting he rolled over and crawled over to the bottle of water he had brought with him and guzzled some of it and tipped the rest over his head. He shakily got to his feet and walked over to retrieve the Gunblade and holster. The sand wasn't the best terrain for the training he was doing but it was the only place the guards didn't patrol and he didn't want to be mistaken for an intruder, or worse if he practiced on a night that Light was on patrol.

He slowly made his way back to the house glad for the pre-sunrise light that was now cast on his path. Once he arrived he quietly opened the front door and slipped inside, he then made his way to his room and hid the Gunblade under his bed and grabbed some clean clothes. Then he made his way to the shower, grabbing a towel on the way. Once he finished cleaning himself he made his way back to his room only to run into Lightning wearing a nightgown. "Oh, hey Light, j-just getting up"? He asked.  
She gave a small smile, "yeah, I'm just heading for the shower, looks like you've already been", she said pointing at his wet hair.  
He chuckled nervously, "y-yeah".  
"I'm surprised you're up first", she said, "but I guess you got used to early mornings recently, huh"?  
"Yeah, I-I guess so", he said.  
"Well, I'll see you later", she said, walking past him.  
"Yeah see 'ya", he said.  
_Well that was odd_, he thought. He had only ever seen Lightning wearing her uniform so seeing her in a nightgown looked surreal. It was foolish of him to think that she wore nothing but her uniform, but still. Now that he thought about it he enjoyed the prospect of seeing her in more casual clothes, but as he realize what she was probably wearing now that she was in the shower he blushed red and ran back to his room, mentally slapping himself for what he was thinking.

Over the next few days the group settled into their new home and their new roles, similarly the refuges also seemed to settle into Oerba. The collapsed buildings had been repaired and though it was a little tightly packed at the moment the populace all had a place to sleep. Plans were made to build more houses and a more solid position for a wall was set with the borders leaving enough space for the houses to be built. Ideally the town should be sufficient for the next few years, after that they would have to begin planning a second city from scratch. The last of the materials that had been brought from Cocoon had been shipped over to Oerba allowing the people to have what they need to cook and clean. A few people put forth the need for an official government, but for now Rosch, Raines and Bartholomew were organizing everything and had had no problems yet. Even so everybody realized that a proper leadership would be needed quickly, preferably within a month.

Individually Snow and Lightning were helping the G.C. & PSICOM troops with any monsters and so far no Pulse natives or Fal'Cie had been seen. Sazh had been going with scout ships to help map the area and update the ones they had. Gadot had also been helping with monsters and had also been helping the builders with repairs, they seemed to like having his brute strength around. Lebreau had opened Oerba's first official restaurant with Serah's help, and while Yuj and Maqui had been allowed to help, people were unsure whether restricting them because they were under-age was really necessary in the current situation. Dajh had been simply enjoying being a kid, when Sazh was out scouting Serah would look after him for a while. Hope had been talking with Bartholomew and both had been working together to make a written record of all the monster weaknesses that the group had learned on their travels, Hope was extremely glad he was able to do something, he couldn't imagine himself wandering around or relaxing at home now. While before everything that may have appealed to him, now all he wanted was to be as much use as possible, he was dreading when he ran out of monsters to catalogue because he doubted his father would want him to do anything dangerous or overly taxing. While he worked he tried to think of other things he could do to help but nothing occurred to him yet.

The former L'Cie had told Raines and Rosch of the village of Yellecra and that they should be peaceful if approached carefully, they had seemed interested in the idea of trading with Yellecra and were in the process of writing a missive that could be delivered to the village. They had also made several attempts to contact Cocoon by long range radio but with no success yet. Nothing had yet been seen leaving Cocoon nor seen any signs of life, but some people still held hope that there were other survivors.

While this was all happening Hope began becoming accustomed to his new home and his new room, he had added his own touches to it already by putting some photos around the place; one of him and his mother in Bodhum a little over a year ago, another of him with both his mother and father and a final picture that had been taken a couple of days ago, but he kept that hidden. He hadn't intended to be in that picture but he kept it, trying not to let anyone else know of course…

**Flashback**

Hope was getting a few hours break at home. Lightning, Snow and his dad were there also. He was reading a book on one of the new couches they had acquired. His eyes were getting tired so he decided to give it a rest, he marked the page and closed the book. He looked over to the other chair where Lightning had been sitting last he saw, also reading a different book. He saw now that she had fallen into a peaceful nap. He sighed, _she's been working so hard, trying to help out as much as possible. I doubt I could convince her too but I wish she wouldn't put so much pressure on herself. _He stood and walked over to her and reached out his hand and placed it on her shoulder, "Light, you should wake up", he said tentatively. She didn't respond. He held his breath as he reached up slightly and brushed a bit of hair that was hanging over her face behind her ear. He smiled at her peaceful looking form.  
"Smile", said a voice. Hope only had time to look up before being blinded by a bright flash, he blinked a few times before being able to see Snow standing there.  
"Snow what…"? He said, quizzically.  
Snow fumbled around with the camera in his hands before pulling out a photo, "not bad", he said admiring his mischief.  
"Snow", Hope growled angrily, "give that here right now", he demanded.  
"Please"? Snow said teasingly.  
Lightning groaned and sat forward rubbing her eyes, "what's going on"? she asked.  
Hope fearfully turned back to Snow and muttered, "Fine, ok, please".  
Snow smiled and handed him the picture, he snatched it out of his hand and bolted for his room.  
Lightning leaned forward now fully awake, "what's going on", she repeated.  
"Nothing", Snow said smugly.  
Lightning narrowed her eyes at his tone, "Snow", she said dangerously.  
"Honest", he said raising his hands. That was a mistake, it allowed Lightning to see the camera he was still holding.  
"You took a picture of me while I was sleeping, and without my permission", she growled standing up and glaring at him, fists clenched.  
"Relax Hope already got rid of the picture", he said nonchalantly, "here you can have the camera, it's the truth".  
Lightning blinked, surprised, "Hope… why would he do that"?  
"Oh I don't know", Snow said innocently, "he probably knew you wouldn't like it".  
Lightning muttered something and walked past, elbowing Snow in the ribs as she went, eliciting a winded grunt from him.

Back in Hope's room he was looking at the picture, holding it over a wastepaper basket, lit match in hand. And was completely torn. _Light would want it gone, but I have been wanting a picture of her… no that's just selfish_, he moved the match closer to the photo then stopped again. _But it's not really hurting anyone, as long as no one else see's it she won't have to be embarrassed, and I have my door lock now._ He stood for another minute of indecision before blowing out the match, walking over to his bedside table, opening the draw and dropping the picture inside.

**End Flashback**

He now sat on his bed looking over the photo once again, remembering the silky feel of her hair as he had brushed it aside. He sighed and placed it back in his draw, then he moved toward the side of his bed and reached underneath. He grasped blindly until he caught hold of the holster he was searching for. He pulled it out from under his bed and walked towards his door. He deftly opened it and exited his room making sure to lock it as he left. He repeated the process with the front door after getting a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He once again made his way down to the beach and cleared a spot of sand, marking it with a circle. He then drew his Gunblade and started his training again, going through the warm up moves before continuing on to the more advanced ones. While he did this he began thinking of the few times he had gone back to burn the picture of Lightning again, he had changed his mind several times but had never gone through with disposing it. At the last moment he would always become too worried that he would regret it, Lightning didn't like getting her picture taken at the best of times. In fact he was quite sure the only picture she had of herself was on her I.D.

He lasted far longer this time around before feeling the effects of his exercise. He was glad, this was likely a sign of improved strength, something he knew he lacked. He was able to continue for a whole hour before thinking he only had another few minutes in him. He began slashing violently again, trying to release every bit of energy into his task. He was just about to finish when he heard a worried voice speak from not far off, "Hope"? It asked tentatively. Hope spun around, his eyes widening as he saw Lightning standing there with quite a worried expression on her face. Hope's heart raced beyond its already fast rate, and his breath hitched. It was too much. His reactions when he saw her and the spent energy was all pilling up as his vision blurred and he felt himself fall forward…

**Yeah so as I said, building anticipation, kind of a cliff-hanger but I will try and get the next chapter out really quick for you guys so you won't have to wait long **** once again please read and review, constructive criticism, opinions, suggestions, I'm open to everything, but I will warn that if you troll me I'm likely to troll right back :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello there, got this one out nice and early for ya, felt great writing this (if a little awkward), my beta will take fucking hours to read this (he reads it after I've added the authors notes) because every time he reads fluff he makes cutesy sounds and says "awwwww", seriously can't handle fluff of any kind without doing that. Anyway I hope you enjoy reading this chapter and that everything is done well.**

Chapter Four: The Perfect Day

Stars shone brightly in the sky and although it couldn't be seen from the window, the moons light was clear on the cloudless night from Lightning's room as she glared up at the sky from her bed, as if blaming it for her problem. _It's no use, I can't do it, _she thought, sitting up in her bed and casting her blanket off. She had awoken nearly an hour ago for no particular reason but since then sleep had eluded her. So now she decided to get up, grab her night robe to add to her rather thin pajamas and walked out to the lounge room. She switched on a small lamp and grabbed a book she had been reading earlier.

She had been indulged in the novel for all of five minutes when she heard what she thought was the front door opening and closing. She flicked the lamp off, quietly placed her book down and crept toward the hallway, _whoever it is will regret breaking in here, _she thought with a smirk. She continued down the hallway until she saw the front door but no one was there. Worry shot through her as she realized the only location the intruder could have gone was Hope's room which was first from the front door. She quickly moved towards Hope's bedroom door and tried to enter only to find it locked, she frowned. Standing straight from her crouched position, she pondered, _if no one came in then someone must have gone out, but who would go out at this time of night?_ She quietly opened the front door and peered outside, she saw the last of a shadow disappearing around a corner, she quickly ducked back inside and grabbed a pair of thongs from a rack, slipping them onto her feet she dashed back out the door. She moved in the direction of the shadow and as soon as she rounded the corner she had problems. She already had a split in her path and she couldn't see where the shadow had gone. She chose one path only to find herself in a dead end alley.

This continued on for a while until she caught a glimpse of movement over the ledge she was near, someone was on the beach but she could not tell who it was or what they were dong. She made her way around further back and then down a flight of stairs and onto the beach, she then began making her way towards the area she had seen. When she came close she saw a familiar head of silver hair and she realized that it was Hope, after another few seconds she realized he was swinging a Gunblade. _That's odd, why would he be practicing with a Gunblade? _She quietly moved closer and closer watching him as she approached, he seemed to be doing quite well but he was swinging rather violently witch made her worry about what he was thinking. When she finally got closer she called his name out quietly, but he seemed not to hear her as he continued to swing, stab and thrust in the opposite direction. She tried calling his name again, a little louder this time, "Hope"? This time he spun around to face her, a frightened look on his face. He stood for a few seconds while she looked over at him before he trembled and fell forward. "Hope", she repeated worriedly, as she stepped forward to catch him. She placed him down softly in the sand. He looked up at her with an apologetic expression.  
"Could… you… my… water", he panted out pointing his hand towards a water bottle lying in the sand. She ran over and retrieved it, returning and handing it to him, "thanks", he said. He guzzled down half the bottle in one go and she allowed him to recover his breath for a minute. "What are you doing out here"? He asked suddenly.  
she looked at him, slightly annoyed, "I could ask you the same thing, why are you out here pushing yourself so hard, there's no one left to fight anymore Hope".  
He blushed and looked away, "I-I'm sorry", he said timidly.  
She looked down before speaking, "its ok, but why would you be training so hard, there really is no one left to fight".  
"I… well… I", he stuttered.  
She placed a hand on his shoulder, "it ok", she repeated, "Just tell me".  
"I-I just want to get as good as I can with using the Gunblade you gave me", he said, gesturing towards the weapon, "Because I didn't want you to think you'd wasted your time training me".  
"Hope", she said.  
"I'm sorry I pushed myself so hard I just didn't want to be a disappointment to you".  
"Hope", She said.  
"I know I probably won't ever be as good as you but I just wanted to try".  
"Hope".  
"I really am sorry, I was just trying to get better, I didn't mean to-"  
"Hope, I think I love you".  
Any and all words he was about to say immediately died in his throat as he stared completely and utterly dumbfounded at her. She actually started blushing, _dammit._ She reached her hands out and pulled him towards her, quickly pressing her lips to his, she held there for a moment before pulling back. His expression hadn't changed a bit and it was making her nerves worse, she had never felt anything like this before. They both sat there in silence for what felt like an hour until Lightning said, "Y-You could try saying something you know".  
This seemed to snap Hope out of his thoughts because he blinked and croaked out, "y-y-you l-love me"? He was completely flabbergasted.  
"I-I think so, yeah", she said, cursing her blush, "I-I like you Hope, I like you a lot, and, well I want to be with you". She leant forward and smiled, slowly she gave him another kiss. He actually seemed to yelp slightly and Lightning felt the urge to giggle, _that would be weird.  
_ He placed his fingers over his lips almost in awe of the moment. "b-but… I-I thought that even if you felt the same way that you wouldn't want to be with me because…", he ducked his head, "…I-it would cause you problems for you. A-and I don't want that".  
"Hope, don't worry, it's ok", she said, placing her hand on his shoulder, "you know I'm not the sort of person to let whispering and gossip stop me from getting what I really want", she smiled at his blush. Hope fingered the sand a little, seeming to finally lose some of the initial shock of the moment. "Come on, let's go back up to the house", she said standing, "I have a day off today so if you could wait until everyone else leaves we can talk then".  
Hope nodded, picking himself up out of the sand, "ok, I can wait a few hours I guess". He walked over and placed his dropped Gunblade back in the holster, shaking the sand off first.  
"Hope"?  
"Yeah", Hope responded.  
Lightning quickly walked up and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. She held for a minute before pulling away, but kept hold of his hand, "let's go".

**Hope's POV**

They made their way back to the house while the sun began to rise beside them. Once they got back inside Lightning bid farewell for now and returned to her room. "I'd better have a shower before heading back to my room", Hope said to himself, still covered in sand. Once he'd bathed and returned to his room he tried to do things to occupy his time. He tried getting a little more sleep, but that wouldn't work, his mind was far too active. He tried reading, but his thoughts kept wondering from what he was reading and he would lose focus. Eventually he resigned himself to the inevitable: waiting out the next couple of hours that would surely feel like an eternity because of his anticipation. He desperately wanted to talk with Light more, he still couldn't believe that she felt the same way as him, let alone that she wanted to be with him. _I should feel unbelievable happiness but I still feel slightly anxious, I don't know what to do or to expect_, he sighed, _but I trust her, that's one of the reasons I love her, I can ask her about this stuff. But god dam it, it already feels like I've been waiting hours._

Eventually he herd what he hoped was the last of his friends and family leaving the house and decided to venture out. He walked down the hall and into the lounge area and looked around. He jumped when he felt arms wrap around him from behind, "that felt like I was waiting the whole day", Lightning whispered to him.  
"Yeah, I know", he said.  
"Come here", Lightning said, pulling him towards the large lounge. She sat down on the chair and he did the same, then they lied down and snuggled closer to each other both feeling overjoyed that they hadn't had to wait any longer. They both hummed happily.  
"So what is it you wanted to talk about"? Hope asked.  
Lightning looked at him and spoke, "well you know, as I said, I won't let gossip or anything else stop me from being with you", Hope nodded, "well that being said, I still that we should keep our relationship quiet for now, just for now".  
Hope nodded, "I understand, Snow would heckle the crap out of me if he knew".  
Light rolled her eyes and smiled, "yeah no kidding".  
"I really hope I'm not dreaming right now", Hope said.  
Lightning brought her hand up and ran it through his silver locks, "if it is… I'm not sure I want to wake", she said.  
For what was to Hope an unknowable amount of time because it felt so perfect to lie next to Light and stare into her beautiful clear blue eyes, there was silence. Then he decided to speak, "I could stay like this for days", and then at probably the worst possible time his stomach made a brutally loud growl. He blushed and looked away, _god dam it now she thinks I want to leave, but I really don't, I don't even feel hungry, what the hell…_  
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a noise emanate from Lightning, he looked back to see her chuckling quietly, "you're so cute Hope".  
Hope's blush deepened considerably, "c-cute"? He said.  
Light relaxed and looked back at him, "come on let's make something to eat together".  
Hope smiled and nodded, _god I love her._ They got up and went to the kitchen together and looked for something for breakfast, eventually they settled on simple fried eggs and toast. While they ate they talked happily. To Hope it was heaven, to finally be able to talk completely openly with Light. They talked about a range of things and Lightning brought up something of quite a bit of interest, "they've actually already decided on what the government will be like but they're waiting until they can organize a time for everybody here to vote on it", she said.  
"Really? What are they going to do"? Hope asked.  
"They want to have a council of five people to make decisions for the populace", she said, "Rosch and Raines obviously because of their military and strategic experience, and your dad because of his political experience. Also they want Sazh to be part so they have someone with a little more experience dealing with Pulse and someone to represent us".  
"And who's the fifth"? Hope asked.  
"That's the one I'm worried about", Light said sighing, "it's a woman who worked in Eden before Cocoon fell, and according to your dad she took orders from Dysley".  
Hope was surprised and understood Lightning's concern, "what? Why would someone like her evacuate with us"?  
"Well from what I can tell she not really malicious but more of an opportunist", Light said shrugging, "must have decided she had a better chance of surviving if she came here".  
"So who knows about this suggested council"? Hope asked.  
"Well everybody who'll be on it obviously, and me and Snow know because initially they wanted me on the council", Hope raised an eyebrow at this, "but I'm much more suited to field work than politics, Sazh is a lot more patient and Snow agrees. I also guess Serah knows from Snow but other than that you're the only other person".  
Hope nodded, "so do you think this woman will cause any trouble"?  
"Well, besides being a little arrogant and being annoyingly insistent that she be allowed to represent the populace on the council", Light said, "She doesn't cause problems yet".  
"So she'll be like a public representative or something"? Hope queried.  
"Yeah, but that does seem like a bad idea, she's good at twisting words to her advantage", Light said seriously.  
Hope frowned, "how old is she"?  
"About a year younger than me, why"? Light asked.  
"That seems awfully young for someone who took orders from Dysley", Hope said.  
"Yeah, well evidently she was only in her position for a few months", Light said.

**Lightning's POV**

After that they finished their meal and washed their dishes before they went up to the roof and sat on one of the outdoor chairs together. They cuddled there enjoying the fresh air and the scent of the flowers Serah had been growing up there. They said few words as the sun slowly rose, once it reached its peak however they decided to go inside. They made their way down the stairs and entered the kitchen to find Serah making a sandwich for herself, "hey guys", she said happily, "what are you doing"?  
"Nothing", Hope said far too quickly, turning red in the process, "I-I'm going to go to my room", he said and practically bolted down the hall.  
Serah turned apologetically to Light and said, "Did you just finish…", she gestured towards the roof.  
Lightning shook her head, "no, I told him this morning and I said I'd like to keep it quiet, but I forgot to tell him that you knew".  
Serah giggled, "Oh that's precious".  
"Hope can you come back here", Lightning called.  
After a moment Hope poked his head around the corner, "y-yeah Light"?  
"I forgot to tell you that Serah knows", Lightning said.  
Hope looked at Serah and his blush deepened, "sh-she d-does"?  
Serah nodded, "I was able to tell Light was different right after I got out of crystal, and she was far more friendly towards you then anyone else I had ever seen her with", Serah said, "and then sis told me about your adorable little confession and how she was more confused about it than anything else", Serah finished smugly.  
"Serah", Lightning said warningly.  
Serah ignoring her older sisters warning beckoned to Hope, "come here". Hope very slowly made his way back into the kitchen to stand before Lightning with her arms crossed and Serah beaming with joy, before Serah jumped over and hugged him tightly, "you better not let her run away ok", she said happily.  
"Uh… I… not", Hope stuttered, trying to compose himself, "y-you're not mad or anything".  
"Nope" Serah said simply, "love chooses who it chooses, and I'm so happy it chose someone for Light", Serah finally released him.  
Lightning unfolded her arms and looked at Hope, "I'm sorry I forgot to mention this".  
"It's ok", Hope said quietly, still tinged red.  
"Snow will be overjoyed to have a little brother", Serah said happily.  
"Do not tell him yet", Hope & Lightning said in unison.  
"I know, I know, not yet", she said.  
_She's almost as happy about this as I am_, Lightning thought. She looked over at Hope quietly talking with an ecstatic Serah and smiled, _well, not really. _

**Hope's POV**

When Serah finally let him go back to his room he sighed and flopped on his bed, _well she's excitable. I can understand Light telling her though, I mean it's her sister after all_. He closed his eyes and smiled, _dealing with Serah's excitement might be difficult but it's worth it. But I imagine Snow will be the last to be told, it'll be buff Serah times fifty._ His smile widened, it was going to be an interesting time ahead.

**Yes, yes it will ****  
so guys once again please leave a review I love to hear what you think, or any suggestions you might have, see 'ya soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Kawaii hi (= Otaku hello) hope everybody's well and non-depressed. This chapter will probably be posted a little later than usual, but not too much, I'll probably have it out by Sunday. Anyway you probably want to get to the actual story so here it is…**

Chapter Five: Dammit Snow

Early morning sun shone through the kitchen window next to Hope as he sat eating some cereal with his father and Sazh across from him. He was happy with how well Sazh and his dad were getting along, they seemed very similar despite having quite different backgrounds. They both picked up their cups of coffee and took a sip in unison making Hope want to chuckle, but he held back. After another few minutes Sazh stood and bade farewell. After a few more minutes his dad then said, "I should probably be off as well, I'll see you when you get there son".  
"Right", he responded cheerily, and then remembered, "Hopefully the data should be finished by the end of the week". Bartholomew gave him a pat on the shoulder and a thumbs up before walking down the hall. Hope sighed, in other words, after the end of the week he would be able to contribute little, until he figured out what he could do to help. _The obvious choice before would have been joining the soldiers, but without my L'Cie powers I'd be little help. Unless… if I could get hold of a Manadrive I would already be proficient in using magic, although I'm not sure exactly how the Manadrive's work… still it's something to look into.  
_Suddenly Hope felt soft warm hands wrap around him from behind making him jump slightly. He looked up to see Light smiling down at him, "I've got to leave as well", she said softly, "I'll see you later", she gave him a kiss on the cheek making him blush again, _I'm never going to get used to that._ Then she too walked down the hall and off to work.

While he finished his breakfast he fumed over his incompetency, he had never had a girlfriend before but he was sure he was supposed to be doing more. They had their quiet moments alone, but she would always find him, and she always seemed to be able to surprise him. He didn't want her to get bored with him, _maybe I should set up a date for us. It'd have to be somewhere quiet or secluded though. But being so assertive could be dangerous also, what if I move too fast or do something wrong._ He sighed standing and grabbing his empty bowl, _on the other hand I can't just do nothing and let her do all the work, I have to make a move. _He placed his bowl in the sink and continued preparing to go to his… well to say that it was his job wasn't really precise, it was only until he completed the database, and it wasn't like they were getting paid, everyone helped out and supplies were distributed evenly, for now that had been able to work. Either way once he was ready he set off. The building he worked at was on the other side of Oerba and was the largest in the city so far. He enjoyed the walk to his workplace people seemed to be adjusting well and it was nice to see people getting back to normal. He sometimes attracted a few odd looks or expressions of recognition, but most people seemed friendly enough. A rare few had been daring enough to come up and ask him questions, it was usually about if it felt any different to be a L'Cie or what other areas of Pulse were like.

Once he arrived he found his desk and powered up his computer. Just then a head popped around the corner and smiled, "hey Hope", said a boy.  
"Hey Nate", Hope said waving as the boy approached. He was five years older than Hope but they got along well, he wore a deep green t-shirt and navy blue pants, he also had short, neat, black hair. He had a laid back attitude but was serious when it came to work, he worked as a computer technician fixing any problems with the databases or terminals.  
"Hey, there was someone around looking for you earlier", he said.  
Hope looked up curiously and said, "really who"?  
"Don't know a name", Nate answered, "but they seemed pretty interested in seeing you".  
Hope frowned and pondered, "What did he look like"? He asked.  
"She… was short, blonde hair… Cute", he said nudging Hope's shoulder and grinning. Hope blushed, Nate was always trying to get him to ask girls out, even though he continually showed no interest. "She was more my age though, but I guess that's not too much of a problem".  
_Wouldn't matter either way,_ Hope thought confidently. "So why were they looking for me"? He asked.  
"Didn't say, just that they wanted to meet with you", Nate said, "though she had a pretty cocky air about her so I wouldn't be surprised if she was someone high up".  
Hope frowned again, the only high up person that ever sought him out was his father, "well thanks for letting me know".  
"No problem, should probably get back to work myself", and he walked off leaving Hope to begin working on his list of creatures.

He worked as normal until about mid-day when he checked the clock and got ready to take a break. After setting a mark on his work and powering down the computer he got up and exited the building. He walked down the street to Lebreau's restaurant. It was nothing fancy, it was more of a pub then a restaurant. He entered to find it a little lively but not to packed, and he walked up to the counter. After a few seconds Lebreau came over, "hey kiddo, what can I get for ya'"?  
"Tomato soup today Lebreau", he said.  
"K', coming up", she said with a smile.  
Once he got his meal he thanked Lebreau and went to sit down. After a few more minutes Sazh walked in and spotted him, they waved to each other as Sazh went to the counter to order his lunch. Once he was finished he came and sat across from Hope and said, "hey Hope, good day so far"?  
Hope nodded and swallowed his mouthful before talking, "yeah it was ok, pretty dull though".  
"yeah I guess that cataloging would be", Sazh said, "but maybe after you're done with the database you could start thinking about something else you'd like to do for work".  
"Yeah, maybe. I just hope that whatever I want to do, my dad won't consider too dangerous", he said quietly, not letting on exactly how spot on Sazh had been, "I mean I don't think he'll try and stop me but I don't want him to be constantly worrying about me either, you know"?  
Sazh smiled thoughtfully, "yeah well, I'm sure you'll find the right job in our little town". Sazh glanced over Hope's shoulder and his expression suddenly became unreadable, "and uh… how are you doing with dealing with… that", he said.  
Hope looked over his shoulder to see Lightning had entered and began walking towards the counter. He looked back at Sazh blushing, Sazh was the only other person that knew how Hope felt, even if he didn't know that it was no longer unrequited. "I-I… uh… well I-I'm doing ok… I guess", he managed to stutter out.  
Sazh looked slightly apologetic, "well I know you find it awkward but, it helps if you talk about it every now and then so… I'm here for you if you need".  
Hope smiled shyly, "yeah, thanks Sazh. I appreciate it".

Hope finished his lunch in relative silence, Light just grabbed her lunch and went as she had things to do but she waved to the both of them as she passed. Once he was finished he got up, returned his empty dish, and began to head back. He entered without incident but when he arrived at his computer he found he was unable to take his seat… due to the person already sitting there. "Uh, h-hello"? He said.  
The woman that was seated there turned to face him. She was average height, had short blond hair and was wearing a professional looking uniform. He wondered if it was the woman Nate had mentioned earlier. "Can I help you"? She asked.  
"Uh… well, you're in my seat", he said with a confused look.  
The woman looked surprised, "this is your desk"? She asked, to which he nodded slowly, "you're Hope. Mr. Estheim's son", she exclaimed, standing.  
"Uh, yeah", he said, his confusion growing.  
"It's good to finally meet you", she said extending her hand, "I work with your father, and my name is Alyssa Ziadelle".  
"Oh, uh… Hi", he said shaking her hand, "I-it's good to meet you too".  
"Though I must say, you're a way more cute than your father", she said in what Hope now guessed was her usually happy voice.  
Her comment however made him blush, "uh th-thanks".  
"You must get your looks from your mother", she said.  
The nervous smile dropped from his face, "so, uh… what did you need me for"? He asked in a more somber voice.  
"well I was just coming to see what it is that you do here, to see what your situation is and if you have any concerns", she said, not breaking her joyful tone.  
"Um, well I'm making a record of all the Pulse monster weaknesses that me and my friends discovered while exploring Pulse", he said.  
"That's right, you're one of the L'Cie that were in Eden", she said.  
"Former L'Cie", Hope corrected, "and I don't really have any concerns but… couldn't you have just gotten all of this from my dad"? He asked.  
"Well, yes I could", Alyssa said, "But I thought it best to check with you as well, just to be sure".  
"So uh, why did you need to check on me anyway"? He asked.  
"Well as I said I work with your father and this is what I do, looking after the populace making sure everybody's happy", she said with a large smile, "you're not the only person I've talked to but you're defiantly the cutest".  
This made his blush re-appear, _is she flirting with me? I don't know how to tell, what do I look for?_ "Uh so was there anything else you needed"? He asked.  
"Nope, not for now", she said continuing to smile, "that's about it, thanks for your time, and I hope to see you again". She waved and walked off leaving Hope at his desk, _well that was… random._ He shook his head and put the thoughts from his mind, he then sat and continued with his work for the rest of the day.

Through the rest of the day Hope managed to work peacefully, however he was distracted by his thoughts a lot of the time. _Was she really flirting with me? How am I supposed to know? Maybe she was just trying to be friendly, she did seem a little… eccentric. _He tried once again to continue working but after a while he became distracted by other thoughts. _I can't wait to see Light again. Even though I did see her this morning she's just so… _"Perfect".  
"What is"? Came a voice.  
Hope nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound, yelping and turning he saw Snow standing behind him with a goofy smile on his face, "Snow, what are you doing here"? He asked in an irritated voice.  
"Hey now calm down", he said raising his hands in defense, "I was just passing by and thought I'd drop in see how you're doing".  
"I'm fine", he sighed and looked up at the clock, "in fact I was just about to head home".  
"Cool, I'll walk with ya'". _Of course you will, _he thought, struggling not to roll his eyes.

The walk was enjoyable enough Snow's bad jokes were kept to a minimum and the early evening sun was pleasantly warm. Snow still mostly talked about Serah, getting her back hadn't changed that in the slightest, but he also talked about NORA and how they were helping keep the monsters at bay.  
"Hey did you hear our scouts found some hunters from Yellecra"? Snow asked.  
"They did"? Hope said.  
"Yep, we were able to convince them to stay in one place until we could get a letter to the scouts and now it's being taken back the village", Snow replied.  
"That's good, we might be able to trade for items we can't get over here", Hope said.  
"Yeah could be really useful".  
"Has… Has there been anything seen or heard from Cocoon yet", Hope asked.  
Snow looked down sadly, "no nothing yet and people are saying if we don't see anything soon we might have to plan an expedition to look for survivors".  
"That's good at least there not totally giving up", Hope said.  
"yeah but what people seem to be more worried about is the possibility of remaining Fal'Cie who might not be too happy about what we did", Snow said in a concerned voice, "plus there might be people up there that are still working for these possible Fal'Cie, it's a lot of possibilities to go though".  
"Oh not that, we can't afford a war", Hope said, "You don't think there are people who would really still follow the Fal'Cie do you".  
"I hope not", Snow said quietly.  
They climbed the steps and entered the house, Hope walked down the hall and found Serah and Dajh sitting together in the lounge room. They looked up as he approached, "hey Hope", they both said, "hey Snow".  
"Hey guys", they both chuckled.  
"Hey mommy", Snow said teasingly as he wrapped his arms around Serah.  
"Snow", Serah said chuckling nervously, "don't say that, he might get confused and think you're his daddy".  
"You're not Daddy, You're goofy Uncle Snow", said Dajh happily, causing Serah to go into a fit giggles.  
"Hey, who callin' goofy", Snow said in a mock hurt voice.  
Hope chuckled and shook his head as he walked back down the hall, _goofy Uncle Snow, I'll have to remember to tell Light that one._

Later after a family dinner that Serah and Sazh had cooked together, Hope was heading back to his room to relax for the night. He opened his bedroom door and walked in, intending to lie on his bed. However he heard his bedroom door close shut again, _wait a minute I didn't swing that shut._ He turned to see Light standing there locking the door behind her. She smiled as she walked towards him, and he smiled as they embraced each other. They sat down after an extended hug and lay down on the bed, "I missed you", Hope said.  
Lightning smiled with a quizzical look, "you saw me this morning and today at lunch", she said.  
"That doesn't change the fact that I missed you", Hope said smiling.  
"You're sweet Hope", she chuckled, "thanks, I missed you too", she leaned in and gave him a kiss, making his lips tingle and his heart race.  
He let out a happy sigh trying to calm his beating heart, "I love you", he said once again.  
Light smiled, "I love you too Hope", she said, and neither had any doubt in the other's words.  
Knock, knock, knock, "Hope, you in there"? Came Snow's voice.  
Hope sat bolt upright, "shit", he whispered, "just a second Snow".  
He looked to Light for advice, "shhhhh", she said with a finger to her lips. She got up, walked to and opened the shutter of Hope's bedroom window and then she climbed out the window and all but disappeared. Hope walked up and looked out the window to see Light holding onto the window frame, she looked up at him and smiled sneakily.  
Hope ran to the door, unlocked it and opened to see Snow waiting there, "hey we're all out in the lounge room playing a board game, you coming to join us"?  
"Uh, well", Hope said, not really liking the idea of a board game over time with Light.  
"come on Hope, ya' can't give up family time for lounging around in you room", Snow said, "I'd ask Light but I doubt she'd want to".  
Hope sighed, he couldn't argue that logic, "alright I'll be out in a minute".  
"Cool", Snow said giving a thumbs up and walking back down the hallway.  
Hope slowly closed his door. When it clicked shut he let out a defeated sigh and turned to see Light vault back into the room, causing Hope to once again admire her strength, "I guess I don't really have much of a choice", Hope said.  
"Seems so", Light said acceptingly.  
"Did you want to join in"? Hope asked.  
Light smiled mischievously, "let's go out there and make Snow pay for interrupting".  
Hope grinned, "I like your style", they chuckled.  
"Come on lets go", Light said giving Hope a last kiss before they exited the room.

**Serah's POV**

Serah watched as Hope and Light walked out of the hallway a minute later, _oh god Snow you interrupted them didn't you. Oh my poor clueless fiancée_, she thought as she hugged Snows arm which was like hugging a normal person.  
"Hey, I asked Light and she said she'd like to join in too", Hope said sitting down.  
Bartholomew frowned, "how? Her rooms down there", he said pointing to the second hallway in the opposite direction, _uh oh…_  
"I was out the front getting some fresh air and Hope caught me on the way in", Lightning said.  
_Nice save sis. _  
"So what are we playing"? Hope asked.  
Snow pulled out a box that was easily concealed behind him, "Monopoly", he said.  
"Really"? Hope said, raising an eyebrow, "the destroyer of friends and families".  
"hey now nothings tearing this family apart", Sazh said, "it will be the ultimate test", he finished off by taking on the voice of an old combat general".

They started playing the game, needless to say there were some jokes made during the game.  
Snow rolled the dice and moved, "South Eden", he said looking at the card, "pretty sure the rent went down in that area after the Adamatoise's appeared", he said making everyone snigger.  
Lightning rolled the dice and moved, "North Eden… pretty sure the rent went up when our Eidolons became the main attraction", she said causing everyone to chuckle.  
Hope rolled and moved, "South-West Felix Heights", he frowned, "didn't we blow that up", and everyone laughed out loud.  
And needless to say Snow got his ass handed to him by the incognito alliance of Hope and Lightning.

**Lol, no way Snow's winning that one. I hope you liked this chapter, but I'm afraid this story will have to take a short break. It won't be too long the next post will probably just be delayed. I just need to take some time and organize some stuff, not just with this story but with my school work as well. **

**Yes, lots and lots of school work…**


	6. Chapter 6

**So I'm back (^_^) [sorry I was gone so long] and I've made a few decisions regarding my Fan-Fiction and now (mainly because I lose focus if I work on the same thing constantly) I will be posting intermittently, so I will be continuing this story but I will also be starting a new story for Soul Eater that will continue on from that One-shot I did a while back. So that's it, a slight change in system but I hope no one's too upset by that and now we can begin the new chapter…**

Chapter Six: Closer & Closer

Lightning slowly opened her eyes blinking away her sleepiness, after a moment she felt pressure against one side of her body and looked down to see Hope cuddled up to her with his eyes closed and a blissful smile on his face. His expression brought a smile to her own lips, she then looked around and remembered where they were; they were in her room. She supressed a laugh at the irony of the fact that other couples would sneak to their rooms to do other things **(you know what I mean ; ) **they had merely lied down and enjoyed being alone together for a while. As it happened they had fallen asleep. This happened surprisingly _and annoyingly _often. Lightning just couldn't help it, she felt so comfortable being this close to Hope. She reached up a hand and ran it through his silvery locks and sighed happily.

Soon however she looked over at her clock and realised they would have to get up. They had both come home a few hours early so they could be alone together, but now the others would be getting home soon and neither of them had had the nerve to tell any of the others that they were together yet. Lightning adjusted her position to face Hope and gave him a light shake, "Hope, wake up", she said quietly.  
Hope's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at her and his smile widened, "hey", he whispered.  
"Hey", she replied mimicking his smile and reaching over to caress his cheek with her hand, "we need to get up, the others will be back soon".  
Hope moaned in disappointment, "ok then", he said, sitting up. They both rose from her bed and moved towards the door that opened into the house's second hallway.

Soon after Serah returned home and Lebreau was with her they were talking happily when they walked in and greeted them. After a little while longer Sazh returned with Dajh, they had spent the evening at a nearby park that had been recently restored. Not long after that Serah and Light began preparing dinner and Lebreau was promptly invited to stay for the meal. When the food was nearly finished they began to wonder where Snow and Bartholomew were. "They should be home by now", Serah said frowning at the clock.  
"They're probably being held up by Snow's… antics", Lightning said, "The main reason I left early today".  
"Oh come on", Serah said moving towards her, "we both know the real reason you came home early", Serah nudged her and nodded her head in the direction of the lounge room, where Hope was talking to Sazh.  
Light blushed and ducked her head, but soon she was smiling, "yeah, well, maybe you're right", she said, "There was a much better reason". Serah giggled.

**Hope's POV**

"Well that's good", Sazh said, "that means you'll be finished the database soon and you'll have nothin' to worry about come next weekend".  
"Huh, next weekend"? Hope said frowning, "What do you mean"?  
"Come on Hope, you can't forget your own birthday", Sazh said, "you may want to once you get my age but it'll still pass you by", he said chuckling.  
"Oh, yeah right", Hope said, nervously rubbing the back of his head, "I just didn't think of it at first".  
"Fifteen huh", Sazh said distantly, "it seems so long ago that I was that age, and yet at the same time it feels equally as if it were just yesterday".  
"Well it's not much of a milestone really", Hope said quietly, "it's just another day older".  
"A day you get presents though right"? Sazh said with a knowing grin.  
Hope laughed, "Yeah I guess", he looked up at the clock, "hey don't you think the others should be back by now"? He said worriedly.  
"Yeah, where are they"? Sazh said frowning.  
"y-you don't think something happened do you"? Hope said.  
"I wouldn't go that far", Sazh said, "Snow just better not make anyone late is all".  
They both got up and made their way to the table where Lightning was laying out plates, "hey what, are we going to do about Snow and my dad"? Hope asked.  
Lightning rolled her eyes, "if Snow's late it's his own fault", she said.  
"Come on sis' we can wait a little while", Serah said, Lightning made a noise as if to say; we'll see.  
Luckily for Snow he and Hope's father walked in just after the others sat down, they were joined by Gadot, Yuj and Maqui. "What took ya' guys so long", Sazh asked raising his hands questioningly.  
"Well, we have some news", Bartholomew said, "Two pieces actually".  
"What happened"? Lightning asked with a serious tone.  
"Relax Light, it's nothing bad", said Snow, "well maybe".  
"First of all", Bartholomew said retaking the conversation, "we've set a date for the vote of the council as an official government". This announcement was met with mutters of relief; everyone had been on edge about the risks of a lack of official government for a while now.  
"But the other thing is…" Maqui began.  
"Well we saw…" Yuj tried to continue, but he also stopped.  
"We don't know what we saw", Snow said.  
Bartholomew rolled his eyes, "a few of our scouting teams caught sight of something on Cocoon".  
Everyone was surprised. "What was it"? Hope asked.  
"We don't know", his dad said, "general description seems to be some flashing lights coming from through the crystal shell".  
"But Cid and Rosch both agree that we need to find out", Gadot said, "So a reconnaissance team is being prepared after the results of the vote are announced".  
"Yeah, it'll be a two to three day mission", Snow said, "and of course, yours truly will be going", he looked quite pleased, but when he turned to Serah he gave an apologetic look.  
Hope looked worriedly toward Lightning to find her already staring back. Her expression was reticent and her eyes seemed to be searching for something in his. He didn't know what she was thinking, and that worried him more than anything.

Dinner was spent with much discussion on the subject of the announcements, but Hope couldn't get Lightning to talk about anything in casual conversation. He resigned himself to asking her of her decision later.

The next day, while Hope was on his way to lunch, he was walking down a street when suddenly someone grabbed his arm and pulled him into an alleyway. He was surprised at first and yelped but as he looked up into the face of his supposed captor he found himself caught by the crystal blue eyes of Lightning's gaze, "sorry", she said, "I… didn't mean to scare you".  
it took a moment for Hope to respond as Lightning's beauty was once again catching him off guard, "I-It's ok", he forced out, "I-I was just startled, that's all".  
Lightning smiled at him, "well, the reason I pulled you over is because… I know you're probably wondering whether I want to volunteer to go on the mission to Cocoon".  
"I… uh… well", he stuttered, and then sighed, "yeah…"  
Lightning looked him in the eyes and Hope saw to his surprise; confusion, "Hope, I need your help".  
"Huh", Hope was surprised, "W-What? Why"?  
"Because I don't know what I want to do", Lightning sighed running a hand through her hair.  
"What do you mean Light"? He asked.  
"Well on the one hand I want to go, to find out first hand what's going on and if there really are any survivors left on Cocoon", Lightning said, "but… I also don't want to go, not only because I'll be away from you, but also because I don't want to worry you". Lightning sighed once more, bowing her head before continuing, "This might not be the safest mission because we don't have any idea what's going to be up there".  
Hope was caught off guard; he hadn't expected Lightning to be so conflicted about going. It took him a few moments but he made up his mind, this time he would be the comforting one and help her through her problem. At least, he would try too. "Light listen, it's ok", she looked up at him, now she looked surprised, "I know this is something you want to do, and I'm not worried, I know you can take care of yourself. But it's completely up to you if you don't want to go, I just… don't want to hold you back".  
Lightning stared into Hope's eyes for the longest moment before rushing towards him and pulling him into a tight hug. He was again caught off guard but returned the embrace, "thank you Hope", Lightning said.  
He didn't think he had done that well but he was glad she felt better. After a moment they released each other and Hope said, "But if you feel like you can't handle a few days without me", he grinned.  
Lightning smirked, "someone's getting cocky', she said pushing his forehead with her thumb, "although", she brought her mouth to his ear, "when I get back I might be a little clingy", she whispered seductively.  
Hope made a frightened noise halfway between a yelp and a cry. Lightning stepped back covering her mouth with her hand muffling her laughter, Hope frowned, "H-Hey, th-that's n-not funny. I-I can't deal with that sort of teasing yet".  
Lightning calmed her laughing then smiled sweetly to him, "come on let's go to lunch".

**Lightning's POV**

The rest of Lightning's day was mostly uneventful; she was just on perimeter patrol after lunch, although she did find it difficult to concentrate with her distracting thoughts. _Hope's so sweet to comfort me like that, I didn't like the idea of burdening him with my problems but he seemed happy to help. I guess I never should have doubted him, it felt so good to be able to rely on him like that._ She had always been the protector, having to look after Serah at a young age. She had been on the receiving end of an emotionally distraught little sister and then having to look after her financially. She had of course never expected anything back from Serah, she was her baby sister after all, but there had been times when Lightning had needed comfort of her own and had no one to turn too. She sighed happily, and refocused her concentration to her assignment.

Later that day, when Lightning got home she headed to her room to change out of her uniform. She opened her door and stepped into her room and nearly slipped over on a piece of paper she had just trodden on. She cursed under her breath, _and it's supposed to be more dangerous on patrol, _she thought.She picked up the piece of paper and was about to crumple it up when she noticed it was a note. Curious, she flattened it out and read:

_Light_

_Don't get worried but I'd like you to meet  
me at Lebreau's restaurant at around 6:30_

_Love Hope_

… _Eh, Lebreau's, why would he want to see her there? Could something be wrong? Although, he had said not to worry, maybe he just wanted to see her alone. But Lebreau's restaurant wasn't the best place for that, they couldn't even get in without a key and Lebreau would ask why they wanted it, and then she might tell Snow…  
_she took a deep breath and calmed herself, _I'm sure Hope's thought this through, I shouldn't worry._ "I trust him", she said confidently to herself. She unclipped her Gunblade holster from the back of her jacket and lent it next to her desk. She then removed her uniform and tossed it into a pile to be taken out later. When she exited the room she had donned a sky blue sleeveless turtleneck and cream colored pants.

After hanging around the house for a while because when she had gotten the note it had only been quarter to five, she let Serah know that she wasn't going to be around for tea.  
"Ok", Serah said, "See ya' later".  
Lightning paused at Serah's unquestioning reaction, "You know something don't you", it wasn't a question but it demanded an answer.  
"Whatever do you mean", said Serah pouting innocently.  
"Hmmm", Lightning eyed her sister suspiciously, "never mind, not like it matters anyway", she said walking down the hallway.  
"Bye Light", Lightning could hear the smirk in her voice and rolled her eyes; _I knew Snow would be a bad influence on her. _  
She walked out of the house and began on her way. It was a cold night so she was glad she had thought to grab her tan jacket first. As she made her way across town the last of the sun sunk into the horizon and by the time she got near the restaurant the last of its light was fading from the sky, and the crescent moon could be seen clearly. When the building came into sight the first thing Lightning noticed was the front door was slightly ajar and flickering light was emanating from it. She slowly approached the door and pushed it the rest of the way open setting off the bell above. She gasped at the sight in front of her: most of the tables had been pushed into a semicircle using the entrance as a base and they each had four candles on them. In the center of the room was a table on its own, also with four candles but a table cloth, two glasses, cutlery and vase with two roses as well, one white and one red. Then out of the kitchen came Hope dressed in a white shirt, deep blue pants and an apron, which he hastily removed. "Hey Light", he said, positively beaming.  
"Hope", she said breathlessly, "this is… amazing".  
Lightning hadn't thought it possible but Hope's smile widened, "I'm glad you like it".  
"Did you… do all this yourself"? She asked.  
Hope blushed, "w-well Serah helped me get the keys but other than that… yeah".  
_I knew it, _Lightning couldn't move, she was still captivated by the sight, "it's amazing", she said again.  
Hope raised a finger and said, "take a seat and I'll be back in a moment", and he ducked back into the kitchen.  
Lightning moved slowly toward the table and removed her jacket and seated herself, _he's amazing, just when I thought I could predict him he surprises me like this._ She looked down at the table and chuckled inwardly, _the roses are a nice touch, if I didn't know any better I'd say he's done this before. _"Light"? She turned to see Hope poking his head out and was blushing deeply once again, "l-listen, there's wine for you if you want it, b-but since I'm underage I've got soda for myself".  
Lightning chuckled once again, "It's fine Hope I'll just have whatever you're having", he smiled meekly and shrunk back into the kitchen once again.  
She was only waiting a minute before Hope returned with a bottle of fancy soda and poured some into each glass before setting it on the table and scurrying back to the kitchen. After another few minutes he returned baring two plates of pasta with a creamy looking sauce. He placed them on the table and took a seat of his own across from her. Lightning picked up a fork and began eating, the pasta was delicious and they ate in mostly silence, but they both radiated happiness. Once they had finished Lightning said, "Thank you Hope, this was beautiful".  
Hope smiled again, "I'm glad you enjoyed it Light".  
"I mean it", she said, then chuckled, "I haven't felt this pampered in a long time".  
Hope blushed, "you're welcome Light".  
"Hope", she said.  
"y-yeah", he replied.  
"Call me by my name", she said.  
"L-Light"? He said questioningly.  
Lightning blushed now, "I-I know you heard it once before".  
Hope paused for the longest moment before forcing out, "C-C-Claire".  
Lightning looked up at Hope happily, she liked the way it sounded coming from him. They both sat there quietly.  
Smiling…  
and blushing…  
and happy as could be.

**Fluff… Overload… It's too much… Can't breathe…. *gargle*… hey it really does taste like cotton candy (^_^). Anyway I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter I enjoyed making Hope a little more confident and letting do something of his own (but he's still so cute), and if there are any Soul Eater fans reading this I encourage you to take a look at my other FanFiction that I will post shortly, until next time; bye :D**


End file.
